Portland Outlaws Groupon Discounts

The libertarian non-profit law firm the Institute for Justice has a new case challenging the constitutionality of a 2009 Portland, Oregon law that imposed higher prices on limousine and sedan car service companies to protect the city's taxicab industry. , The IJ Web site reports:

Recently, the city's Revenue Bureau clamped down on Groupon.com promotions offered by two Portland limo and sedan companies, Towncar.com and Fiesta Limousine. When the companies offered discounted fares to their customers—$32 one-way trips to the airport or up to 30 miles elsewhere in Portland—city enforcers immediately threatened the companies with a combined $895,000 in fines and suspension of their operating permits. In response to the controversy, the city has publicly stated that its job is to protect taxicab companies from competition by enforcing anti-consumer rules.